1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in general admission tickets of the type generally sold in rolls to operators of amusement parks, theme parks, athletic stadiums and arenas, etc.
2. The Prior Art
The problem of integrity of proof of payment of admission price has long been a problem for promoters of music and sport events, amusement park operators, circuses and other such events which charge a general admission price.
Perhaps the most common ticketing procedure involves the purchase of a ticket, typically detached from a roll of tickets by tearing along a row of perforations. After purchase of the ticket, admission is attained by presenting the ticket to a ticket taker posted at a gate opening into the amusement park, arena, stadium, theater, etc. The ticket purchaser is usually given a stub of the ticket, torn off by the ticket taker, which is retainer as proof of payment for the admission. Thus, at many events, an attendee may leave the premises of the event, for which admission has been paid, or may leave an assigned seat, but is allowed to return upon presentation of the ticket stub.
Obviously, the above described use of ticket stubs for readmission is subject to abuse by transfer from one party to another. This is especially true of a general admission ticket to a theme park, amusement park or any event having a repetition of acts or shows throughout the day. In order to prevent such abuse, many events provide a hand stamp, i.e. an ink image, applied to the back of the hand which may or may not fluoresce and thereby be detected by visual inspection under a fluorescent lamp, as the payor returns to his seat or to the premise of the event. However, the hand stamp is also subject to abuse. One abuse is by duplication of the ink image by pressing the hand bearing the ink stamp, before the ink dries, against the hand of another person. Another area of abuse of hand stamping involves dishonesty on the part of the party employed as the ticket taker who accepts the ticket and, in return, applies a hand stamp. Attendees may innocently present money to the employee applying the hand stamp, as opposed to first buying a ticket as intended by the owner or operator of the event.
Another approach to verification of payment of a general admission price uses a wrist band which is locked to the wrist by a snap mechanism and which can be removed only by breaking the snap mechanism which cannot then be relocked. The security afforded by a wrist band however, can be breached by cutting the band itself and taping the two cut ends back together. Further, often the wrist band can simply be slipped over the hand especially if not properly applied in the first instance.
Another approach, of the type commonly used as ski resorts, involves a ticket having pressure sensitive adhesive on one side thereof, used in combination with a metal wire slipped through, for example, the eyelet of a zipper. This approach is also subject to abuse in that the article of clothing carrying the ticket can be transferred to another person.